1. 5   Classification of Words

    The English vocabulary, multifarious (各种各样的；多样的)in nature, consists of words of all kinds. They can be classified by different criteria and for different purposes. Words may fall into: the basic word stock and nonbasic vocabulary by use frequency; content words and functional words by notion; native words and borrowed words by origin; simple words, compounds and derived words by morphology(形态学), etc. .

1. Basic Word Stock and Nonbasic Vocabulary

The basic word stock is the foundation of the vocabulary accumulated (积累)over centuries and forms the common core of the language.  Though words of the basic word stock constitute(构成) a small percentage of the English vocabulary, yet it is the most important part. Having passed down from generation to generation, these words manifest (显现；清楚显示)some obvious characteristics.

    1) All National Character

    Words of the basic word stock denote the most common things and phenomena of the world around us, which are indispensable (不可或缺的)to all the people who speak the language. They include words relating to:

Natural phenomena: rain, snow, fire, water, sun, moon, spring, wind, hill;

Human body and relations: head, foot, hand, face, father, mother, brother, sister, son , daughter;

Names of plants and animals: oak, pine, grass, pear, apple, tree, horse, cow, sheep, cat, dog,  chicken ;

Action, size, domain, state: come, go, eat, hear, beat, carry, good, evil, old, young, hot, cold, heavy, white, black ;

Numerals, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions: one, ten, hundred, I, you, your, who, in , out, under, and, but, till, as.

These words and the like cannot be avoided by any speakers of English, irrespective (不考虑；不受...影响) of class origin, education, profession, geographical regions, culture, etc..

    2)  Stability

    Words of the basic word stock have been in use for centuries, e. g. man, fire, mountain, water, sun, moon and others. As they denote the commonest things necessary to life, they are likely to remain unchanged. Stability(稳定性), however, is only relative. Actually, the basic word stock has been undergoing some changes. A few words like arrow, bow, chariot(双轮敞篷马车), knight, which were once prevalent (盛行的) in bygone days (过去), have now moved out of the word stock whereas words like electricity, machine, car, plane, computer, radio, television, which denote new things and modern ways of life, have entered the stock. But this change is slow. There are many more words joining in than dropping out(消失).

    3)  Productivity(能产性)

    Words of the basic word stock are mostly root words or monosyllabic(单音节的) words. They can each be used alone, and at the same time can form new words with other roots and affixes, e.g. foot: footage(电影胶片), football, footpath(小路), footer(页脚), footfall(脚步), footed(有脚的), footloose(自由自在的), footling(愚昧的，无价值的), footman (男仆；步兵), footbath(洗脚，洗脚盆) , footing(立足处), footprint (足迹，脚印)and many others. In the same way, dog is the father of doglike(像狗的；顽强的；忠实的), doghood(狗性), dogcart(轻便双轮马车；狗拉的轻便小车), dog-cheap(非常便宜), dog-ear(（书）卷角), dog-fall(（比赛）平局), dogfight(混战；空战；狗咬狗), doghole(狗窝), dog paddle(狗刨式游泳), dogsleep(打盹，假寐), to name just a few.

    4)  Polysemy(多义性)

    Words belonging to the basic word stock often possess plurality (多样性)of meanings because most of them have undergone transformations (转变)in semantic structure (语义结构)in the course of use and become polysemous(多义性的). One example will suffice (足够)for illustration(例证). The verb take, for instance, may mean: to move or carry from one place to another; to remove or use without permission or by mistake; to seize or capture; to get for oneself; to get hold of (something) with the hands; to be willing to accept; to bear or endure; to need (a stated amount of time); to perform the actions connected with; to test or measure; to write down; to have the intended effect or to work successfully (LDCE).

      5)  Collocability(搭配；并置)

    Many words of the basic word stock enter quite a number of set expressions, idiomatic(习语的) usages, proverbial sayings(谚语) and the like. Instances are not difficult to find. Take heart for example: a change of heart(改变主意；变心，变节); after one's heart(正中下怀); a heart of gold(道德高尚的人); at heart(在心里；本质上); break one's heart(令人心碎); cross one's heart(在胸口划十字（表示说的是真话）；祈祷); cry one's heart out(痛哭); eat one's heart out(忧伤过度); have 's heart in one's mouth(忐忑不安；焦急万分); heart and hand(热心地); heart and soul(全心全意); one's heart sinks within(某人消沉泄气了); take something to heart(认真考虑；对某事耿耿于怀); wear one's heart upon one's sleeve(十分坦率；过于直率); with all one's heart(诚心诚意；全心全意) and so on.

     Of course, not all the words of the basic word stock have these characteristics. Pronouns and numerals enjoy nation-wide use and stability, but are semantically monosemous(单义性的) and fairly limited in the respect of productivity and collocability. Therefore, ' all national character' is the most important of all features that may differentiate words of common use from all others.

Words, void (没有的，缺乏的)of the stated characteristics, do not belong to the common core of the language. They include the following:

 (1) Terminology(专业术语)

This refers to technical terms used in particular disciplines and academic areas(学术领域) as in medicine: photoscanning(扫描), hepatitis(肝炎), indigestion(消化不良), penicillin(青霉素); in mathematics: algebra(代数), trigonometry(三角几何), calculus(微积分，演算); in music: symphony(交响乐), orchestra(管弦乐队), sonata(奏鸣曲), concerto(协奏曲); in education: audiovisual(视听), megauniversity(大学城), microteaching(微观教学), etc.. 

   (2) Jargon(行话)

    This class consists of the specialized vocabularies by which members of particular arts, sciences, trades(贸易) and professions communicate among themselves such as in business: bottom line for 'inescapable(必然的) implication, unavoidable result, ultimateversion(（财务报表的）盈亏底线)', ballpark figures (估价)for 'estimate', bargaining chips (讨价还价的筹码；谈判中各方的优势)for ' an advantage (优势) held by any of the parties in a negotiation'; in horse-racing: hold him back (阻止一匹马获胜)for 'prevent a horse from winning', hold him in (在赛马比赛开始时强制马匹落后于他人，以便保存速度进行冲刺)for 'force a horse to run behind at the beginning of a race so as to reserve speed for the finish'; in medicine: paranoid (患妄想狂的；多疑的)for 'suspicious, worried', persona(怪癖) for 'mannerism'(习性；癖性), hypo for 'hypodermic syringe(皮下注射)'; in warfare: buster for 'bomb'. Generally speaking, people outside the circle have difficulty in understanding such words.

    

       (3) Slang(俚语)

    Words of this group belong to the sub-standard language, a category that seems to stand between the standard general words and informal ones available to everyone and the in-group words like the cant(行业术语；（小偷的）黑话，切口), jargon(行话), and argot(（盗贼的）黑话，切口), all of which are associated with, or most available to, specific segments of the population(特定的人群). Certain words are labeled slang not because of their appearance or pronunciation but because of their usage. Dough and bread, for instance, are standard when they are used as food terms but slang in the sense of 'money'. Similarly, grass and pot have standard or formal use meaning, respectively, i. e. 'type of plant life' and 'cooking utensil(器皿)', but slang use meaning 'marijuana'(大麻). Such words as beaver(海狸；女性生殖器) (girl), smoky, bear (police), catch (talk to), holler (call), Roger (understand), X-rays (radar) are all slang words (Fensch in P. Eschholz et al 1978). The concept 'head' can be referred to by nut(坚果；螺母), dome(圆屋顶；穹窿), upper, bean, block and so on; in the same way, the meaning of 'drunk' can be expressed in as many terms as over three hundred, such as elevated(提高的), merry, jolly(快活的), comfortable, boiled(), grassy, tight, knocked out（击倒；失去知觉）, blue-eyed, fried, paralyzed(麻痹的),pickled(腌制的；醉了的), stiff, stunned (眩晕的)(秦秀白1988).

    These examples indicate that much of the slang is created by changing or extending the meaning of existing words though some slang words are new coinages(新创词语) altogether. Slang enjoys popular use. Almost everyone uses some slang sometimes, and some people use a lot of slang often. Those who do not go to offices seldom find themselves in formal situations, and those who spend more time with close friends than business associates and mere acquaintances, use the most slang, because slang is colorful, blunt(率直的；不拐弯抹角的), expressive(有表现力的) and impressive(令人赞叹的). As some people claim, slang avoids pretensions(虚饰；虚夸；托词). It is 'language that rolls up its sleeves' and gets to work.

 (4)  Argot(隐语)

 This group is the combined cant (shoptalk(行话) of any group) and jargon of criminals. Naturally, the use of argot is confined to the sub-cultural groups as indicated and outsiders can hardly understand them. A few examples will suffice for illustration: can-opener (all-purpose key), dip (pick-pocket), persuader (dagger(匕首)).

      (5)  Dialectal Words(方言词)

      As the term indicates, these are words used only by speakers of the dialect in question. For example, beauty (AusE = excellent, great), chook (AusE = chicken), cocky (AusE = small farmer), station (AusE = ranch（大牧场）), auld (Scot =old), bluid (Scot = blood), coo (Scot = cow), home (Scot =home), Lough (Irish = lake), bog (Irish = swamp(沼泽)).

       (6)  Archaisms(古词语)

     Archaisms are words or forms that were once in common use but are now restricted only to specialized or limited use. They are found mainly in older poems, legal documents and religious writing or speech. Here are some examples: thou (you), ye (plural you), thee (objective you), wilt (will), brethren (brother), troth (pledge(保证，诺言；承诺)), quoth (said), aught (anything), hereof (of this, concerning this), therefrom ( from that or there), wherein (in what).

  (7)  Neologisms(新词语)

  This category refers to newly-created words or expressions or words that have taken on new meanings. Here are some examples from 12 000 WORDS:

microelectronics（微电子学）— the branch of electronics dealing with integrated circuits（集成电路）

futurology（未来学）= a study that deals with future possibilities based on current trends 

data bank（数据库）= a collection of data organized esp. for rapid search and retrieval 

memory（存储器）= capacity for storing information 

the Pill  = an oral contraceptive（口服避孕药）

    AIDS = acquired immune deficiency syndrome

    internet = an international computer network linking both business and private users

 

2.  Content Words and Functional Words

    By notion, words can be categorized into content words and functional words. Content words denote clear notions and thus are known as notional words. They are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and numerals, which denote notions of objects, phenomena, action, quality, state, degree, quantity, etc. e.g. earth, cloud, run, walk , bright, dark , never, frequently, five , Decembers.

      Functional words do not have notions of their own. Therefore, they are also called empty words. As their! chief function is to express the relation between notions, the relation between words as well as between sentences, they are known as form words. Prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliaries (助动词)and articles (冠词)belong to this category. Examples are on, of, upon, and, but, do (does, did), be (am, are, were, is), a, the and others.

     Content words, which constitute the main body of the English vocabulary, are numerous, and the number is ever growing whereas functional words, which make up a very small number of the vocabulary, remain stable. However, functional words do far more work of expression on average than content words. According to Robertson and Cassidy(1957), the nine functional words, namely, and, be, have, it, of, the, to, will, you assume (认为，承担)one fourth of the task of expression in English. This is justified (证明是合理的)by the following examples:

    (1)  It is fun to play with children.

    (2)  It is certain that they have forgotten the address.

    (3)  The more I see the film, the more I like it.

 

3.  Native Words and Borrowed Words

      As far as the origins of the words are concerned, English words can be grouped into native words and borrowed words. Native words are not native in fact but words brought to Britain in the fifth century by the German tribes(日耳曼部落): the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, thus known as Anglo-Saxon words. Words of Anglo-Saxon origin are small in number, but they form the mainstream (主流)of the basic word stock and stand at the core of the language. Therefore, what is true of the basic word stock is also true of native words. Apart from the characteristics mentioned of the basic word stock, native words have few other features:

    

      1)  Neutral in Style(文体中性)

     Since native words denote the commonest things in human society, they are used by all people, in all places, on all occasions, and at all times. Therefore, they are not stylistically specific(在文体上特定的/特有的). This can be illustrated by a comparison between synonyms(同义词).

    begin (E)—commence (F)

    brotherly (E)—fraternal (F)

    kingly (E)—royal (F)—regal (L)

    rise (E)—mount (F)—ascend (L)

    Words marked E are native words and the rest are all borrowed. Stylistically, native words are neither formal nor informal whereas the words borrowed from French or Latin are literary and learned(学术性的), thus appropriate in formal style.

 

      2)  Frequent in Use

    Like other words in the basic word stock, native ones are most frequently used in everyday speech and writing. Its use is perhaps just the opposite of its number. Native words in use run usually as high as from 70 to 90 percent. 

  Words taken over from foreign languages are known as borrowed words, loan words or just borrowings in simple terms. English is a heavy borrower and has adopted words from all other major languages of the world. It is estimated that English borrowings constitute 80 percent of the modern English vocabulary. As is stated in Encyclopedia Americana, 'The English language has vast debts. In any dictionary some 80% of the entries are borrowed. ' (1980 Vol. 10, p423) The English language is noted for the remarkable complexity and heterogeneity (异质性；多样性)of its vocabulary because of its extensive borrowings. Baugh (1978) talks of the English vocabulary as 'cosmopolitan (超越民族界限的；世界性的)vocabulary', which reveals the true feature of the English vocabulary. According to the degree of assimilation (同化)and manner of borrowing, we can divide the loan-words into four classes.

1)  Denizens(同化词)

Denizens are words borrowed early in the past and now are well assimilated into the English language. In other words they have come to conform to the English way of pronunciation and spelling. Some of the words are so successfully assimilated that only trained professionals may be aware of their origin. Words of this group are early borrowings from Latin, Greek, French and Scandinavian, e. g. port from portus (L), cup from cuppa (L), shift from skipta (ON), shirt from skyrta (ON), change from changier (F), pork from pore (F). 

    2)  Aliens(非同化词)

Aliens are borrowed words which have retained their original pronunciation and spelling. These words are immediately recognizableas foreign in origin. They are words like décor (F)(装饰，布置), blitzkrieg (G)(闪电战), kowtow (CH), bazaar (Per)(市场，街市), rajar (Hin)(酋长，王公，贵族), status quo (L)(现状), intermezzo (IT)(幕间表演), emir (Arab)(（穆斯林国家的王公、统帅的称号）埃米尔), to name a few. 

    3) Translation Loans

    Translation loans are words and expressions formed from the existing material in the English language but modeled（按照...的模式）on the patterns taken from another language. Such words can also be subdivided.

    Words translated according to the meaning:

    mother tongue from Lingua materna (L)

    a slip of the tongue from lapsus linguae (L)

    surplus value from Mehrwert (G)(剩余价值)

    masterpiece from Meisterstuck (G)(代表作)

    black humor from humour noir (F)

 

Words translated according to the sound:

    kulak from kyrak (Russ)(富农)

    ketchup from fanqiejiang (CH dial)

    lama from lama (Tib)

    tea from t' e (CH dial)

 

    4) Semantic Loans

    Words of this category are not borrowed with reference to the form but to the meaning. In other words, English has borrowed a new meaning for an existing word in the language. Take the English word dream for instance. The word originally meant 'joy' and 'music', its modern meaning was borrowed later from the Norse(挪威语). Pioneer once signified 'explorer' only or 'person doing pioneering work', and it now has taken on the new meaning of 'a member of the Young Pioneer' from Russian. The meaning 'stupid' of the word dumb comes from the German word dumm . Likewise, fresh has adopted the meaning of 'impertinent(不恰当的，不礼貌的), sassy(粗鲁的，无礼的), cheeky(不要脸的；厚颜无耻的；放肆的)' under the influence of the German word frech.